loor of the main house, with the whole blue reserv

y carrying

nobody looks at the woman holding the t

e head, in Gideon's place. Rhys halfway down, reading a folder.

ng bored and beautiful. She was th

t said, "I'll keep this simp

red line dove

n alone. At that rate, Meridian runs dry in eleven months." He paused, looking grave. "I'm recommen

bers nodded. On

his heat?" she said

uns dry," Grant said gently. "This

hink the numbers speak for

ind Rhys's chair w

staring at

eet a

Pleasant shrink one painful inch at a time. In the worst heat, a

tripl

ked like he was only counting the water above the top intake

wrong,

m went

. Tessa sat up stra

was a stain on the carpet

I set the coffeepot down. "A reservoir this deep loses about

this is the woman I told you a

out," Vic

the door ste

her f

up from his folde

ctor said. "

es after my engineers failed for thre

ards s

ant's screen. He stepped back like I

hirty-four percent only counts water above the top one. But the middle and

g. So the people at the

, not twenty-four." I did the math in front of them, line by line, the marker s

d the last

out in tw

dy s

rd, studying the board. An older man t

woman said slowl

's a disgruntled former

losed his folder. "You have forty-eight hours to bring us real da

can

less you'd like to put it to a vote? Say, after the camp leaders h

face went

ed," he

rt was hammering so hard I th

le. She was staring at Grant lik

wo of them looked at me on the way past.

ft witho

fee tray. My hands

to the door. He leaned down. He kept his voice

," he said. "You

didn'

"and then this company is mine. And

alke

he tray in my hands,

e w

His face was cal

s on the table

in five weeks?